Watching The Sopranos for the first time - does it deserve all the plaudits?

IvaBigWun

Its always been on my To Do list but one that I always put off .... till now. Im halfway through Season 3 and things seem to be hotting up ... but!: does it deserve all the plaudits that have been heaped upon it over the years?

Its good. Its very good. But I feel shows like The West Wing and Breaking Bad may have spoiled my expectations from a TV show. Maybe forever They are the benchmark for me.

Dont get me wrong, James Gandolfini is incredible (its a crime that he never had leading big screen roles after the show ended), characters like Paulie are a joy to watch and it never (so far anyway) tends to go in the obvious direction you think a plotline might take.

Then there's the music: great unobvious choices that set the tone for whats to come or usually to close the show in a fitting manner.

All that said, maybe I was expecting more. Over 10 years of hearing and reading things like "you have to see this show" and "best TV of all time" tends to pique your interest to silly levels.

If I had discovered the show in say, 2000 - just a year after it had launched - I know for sure I wouldnt have been slightly disappointed. Much in the same way that new Breaking Bad viewers must be anticipating something akin to the second coming after all the hype (and then some) its received. Im glad I got into Walt and Co's adventure just 12 months after it first aired.

The Sopranos also looks like the show's budget is too small at times. But I understand that this was the series that made HBO the monster company it was and they hadnt got the kind of money that they spend on the likes of Boardwalk Empire now.

Dont get me wrong; so far so good! I just wish I hadnt heard and read so many "king of TV" type reviews before I delved in.

Please note: Im up as far as Season 3, Episode 7 ("Second Opinion") so, no spoilers for anything after that - or I'll send Tony around to smash up your house

Im interested in your opinion on whether or not this show deserves the many accolades its received over the years. Im sure many of you will think it does.



The Sopranos: does it deserve all the plaudits?

Yawlboy

yes

Lovely Bloke

Yep

IvaBigWun

Very insightful lads :pac:

CaSCaDe711

Me likey, so me say yes too

ixoy

Nope It's good but over-rated and gets weaker as it goes on.

I'm a huge fan of The Wire, think I've watched it through 7 times at this stage (could more anything from 5-8) and Breaking Bad. The Wire is probably just about my favorite but I always feel like The Sopranos was better in a sense. Maybe you're missing some bits and pieces, I dunno. Each subsequent viewing of The Wire yields more foreshadowing and produces more smirks. However with The Sopranos, without foreshadowing or foreknowledge it's always funny. Every episode would make me laugh more than everything Chuck Lorre has ever done, though some may say that's not mightily impressive :P
Anyway, The Sopranos is fantastic with brilliant writing and characters. If you finish it and still don't think it's all that, I will fight you.

DundalkDuffman

I think it does. I've only recently seen West Wing and I was watching BB in real time so maybe I've been lucky in the order that I watched them. Sopranos is right up there with them to me. My mate is watching Sopranos for the first time now and is struggling to stay with it, West Wing had him ruined!

the whole year inn

going to have to start watching west wing

dobman88

@IvaBigWun, I think you answered your own question a bit with what you said about reading all the "you have to see this show" and "best TV of all time" posts/reviews.

You admitted yourself that you watched it too late and expected too much. I do think it deserves all the accolades and hype that goes with it. I can't remember exactly when I watched it but it was years after it ended when Sky Atlantic started on S1 Ep1 and it absolutely blew me away.

My feelings towards Breaking Bad are the same as yours with the Sopranos. I only started watching BrBa a few months after it finished and I had read all the "changed the course of television history" "greatest of all time" "how future shows will be made" posts/reviews and thought WOW I better see this but at the end I sat there going WTF!! I just didn't understand the hype because you already knew there was 5 seasons so neither of them were going to die in season 3 for example. And every time I tell a BrBa fan that I was underwhelmed by it, I get the height of abuse of course.

Just because I didn't think much of BrBa doesn't mean it wasn't a fantastic show or that it wasn't the best show ever. In some peoples opinions it is the best show ever, in others, it's not. Same with you and the Sopranos, just because I think that's the best show ever, doesn't mean everyone who thinks differently is wrong.

IMO, The Sopranos deserves everything it gets, as does BrBa, The Wire, The West Wing etc. They are all great shows but every person won't like all of them.

FWIW, my top 5 would be something like, The Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and then BrBa squeaking in there. That could change in a couple of years depending on what other shows come out but I think The Sopranos will always be my number 1, just like other people will have the Wire or BrBa in there.

The joys of television, something for everyone

Bacchus

Yes, particularly the first 2 seasons which were insanely good television. It dipped for me a bit in the 3rd season, though the episode with

Chris and Paulie in the woods is one of my favourite episodes of the series

. Season 4 picked up the pace again with

Ralph, the horse, Chris's addiction, the trial and Furio

. Season 5 was good too...

Tony & Junior, the FBI stuff with Adriana, Steve Buscemi and the turf war

. I think most goodwill for The Sopranos is based on the first 2 seasons. It's not like it turned into a bad (or anything less than great) in the remaining seasons but 1 & 2 were just awesome IMO.

TwoShedsJackson

Seasons 1 & 2 are the best by a mile, to be honest if those didn't do it for you then 5 & 6 definitely won't.

tunguska

I dont think it does deserve all the plaudits. It was a really good show but definitely not as great as everybody makes out. Personally I think Madmen, which Matthew Weiner also wrote and produced, is better. Im also half way through the Wire at the moment and I think that is in a different league to the Sopranos.

gimmick

I think The Sorpanos was pretty good, but I think other shows have come along in the meantime which have outdone it.

That being said, it is a brilliant show and totally worth watching.

Also, I thought series 1 was pretty weak. The best was yet to come once that ended.

Alfred Borden

Watched Sopranos, Breaking Bad and the Wire and think Sopranos is a definite number 1. The other two are brilliant but this show has some extra, an added dimension that you dont get nowadays. Watch it out until the end and you will appreciate it so much more and will be 100% worth it.

EGriff

I've seen the Sopranos 3 times all the way through I think and this thread is tempting me to start again. Definitely my number 1 show.

I tried to watch the Wire a second time and even though I loved it the first time I couldn't stick with it past season 2.

Oz is probably the only other show I've seen more than once.

eddhorse

I definitely would agree with you OP, I've been stuck on season 3 for a while.

I've had the same as issue as you hearing how great it is/was.

I think people that watched it around the time it was originally on liked it more.

Now before someone says tht I know nothing about TV shows, I have watched dozens. Most notable being Boardwalk Empire and The Wire.

I think the reason Breaking Bad did so well is it's availability. At the time the Sopranos was out if you missed it one week you were screwed and had to wait for VHS or DVD or maybe a rerun.
For BB you can now "binge watch" seasons of TV shows. And if you recommend to a friend they can start easily with Netflix from square one.

I like the Sopranos and will continue to watch and hopefully it will be in my top 5 or 10.

Ed

IvaBigWun

eddhorse wrote: »

I definitely would agree with you OP, I've been stuck on season 3 for a while.

I've had the same as issue as you hearing how great it is/was.

I think people that watched it around the time it was originally on liked it more.

Glad Im not the only one

Mind you, it is good and I will complete it regardless. I was just expecting "the best TV show ever"

redbuck

It was the best tv show at the time in the early 2000's but feels dated with time now. The Wire. Mad Men and Breaking Bad have surpassed it now with the Wire being the best television show ever in my opinion.

DaveR1000

As Redbuck says it was the best show of its time and set the bar very high in terms of viewer expectations for subsequent tv shows- defo in my top 3 of all time.

snausages

I can't think of any show that has outdone Sopranos. Deadwood came close. Maybe The Wire. True Detective could potentially.

Mick Murdock

I just finished The Sopranos last night - had seen bits and pieces as it aired but this was my first complete viewing of the show.

Definitely up there in my fav of all time list. It does lull somewhere in the middle, season 3 if iirc but picks up pace in 4 and 5. I enjoyed the finale too.

The best casting I have seen in any show. Every character was perfect in my opinion.

So many standout acting performances.

GhostInTheRuins

I've been meaning to watch the Sopranos again sometime. I haven't seen it since it ended so I don't really remember much of it. The first couple of seasons probably aren't great but it definitely picks up later on.

The one episode that sticks in my head is the one where Paulie and Christopher get lost in the forest, comedy gold!

Dirty Dingus McGee

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

I've been meaning to watch the Sopranos again sometime. I haven't seen it since it ended so I don't really remember much of it. The first couple of seasons probably aren't great but it definitely picks up later on.

The one episode that sticks in my head is the one where Paulie and Christopher get lost in the forest, comedy gold!

That's my favourite episode aswell.

I'd say almost every great TV show in recent years is overrated.The Wire which is one of y favourites and was a great show was nowhere near as good as the hype suggested.I was expecting that it would make The Soprano's , The Shield etc look fairly ordinary but it didnt.I'm in the middle of Seson 3 of Breaking Bad now and I get the feeling it has been a little overhyped aswell although it is a great show.

I found Oz, brilliant because I went in with zero expectations had it been hyped up before hand I may not have apreciated it as much.I always find with Films,books TV etc you are far better off having no expectations beforehand.

Lenin Skynard

It really depends what you want from it I think. People only really say bad things about it when they're comparing it to The Wire or Breaking Bad. If you take it on its own merits and ask if it's a good tv show, then yes, it's excellent.

Where it lost me at times was with some of the smaller plot angles like Carmella's affair, whatever the kids are doing and some of the soft-comedy type stuff with Pauly. Maybe those bits are there to hook women and young people in rather than grumpy old men like me. What I'm saying I suppose is that I would have liked less of the fluffy stuff and more tension

That said, I still think it was a brilliant show and well worth the watch if you haven't seen it.

Fago123

It's the best for me, nothing has surpassed it yet. The Wire comes very very close but the Sopranos just edges it. Don't want to compare the two shows but I think what separates them is James Gandolfini. Quite simply the best performance ever put on screen. Ever.

seachto7

EGriff wrote: »

I've seen the Sopranos 3 times all the way through I think and this thread is tempting me to start again. Definitely my number 1 show.

I tried to watch the Wire a second time and even though I loved it the first time I couldn't stick with it past season 2.

Oz is probably the only other show I've seen more than once.

Worth sticking with The Wire. It's as good as The Sopranos, which is top class viewing I have to say.

I stopped watching Breaking Bad after season 3, but will pick it up again once True Detective finishes.

A mention for 6 feet under.

IvaBigWun

Lenin I only got partially into reading your post when I realised you cant read yourself.

Please use spoiler tags!

jimboblep

dobman88 wrote: »

@IvaBigWun, I think you answered your own question a bit with what you said about reading all the "you have to see this show" and "best TV of all time" posts/reviews.

You admitted yourself that you watched it too late and expected too much. I do think it deserves all the accolades and hype that goes with it. I can't remember exactly when I watched it but it was years after it ended when Sky Atlantic started on S1 Ep1 and it absolutely blew me away.

My feelings towards Breaking Bad are the same as yours with the Sopranos. I only started watching BrBa a few months after it finished and I had read all the "changed the course of television history" "greatest of all time" "how future shows will be made" posts/reviews and thought WOW I better see this but at the end I sat there going WTF!! I just didn't understand the hype because you already knew there was 5 seasons so neither of them were going to die in season 3 for example. And every time I tell a BrBa fan that I was underwhelmed by it, I get the height of abuse of course.

Just because I didn't think much of BrBa doesn't mean it wasn't a fantastic show or that it wasn't the best show ever. In some peoples opinions it is the best show ever, in others, it's not. Same with you and the Sopranos, just because I think that's the best show ever, doesn't mean everyone who thinks differently is wrong.

IMO, The Sopranos deserves everything it gets, as does BrBa, The Wire, The West Wing etc. They are all great shows but every person won't like all of them.

FWIW, my top 5 would be something like, The Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and then BrBa squeaking in there. That could change in a couple of years depending on what other shows come out but I think The Sopranos will always be my number 1, just like other people will have the Wire or BrBa in there.

The joys of television, something for everyone

pretty much hit the nail on the head there

irishfeen

An exceptional show for which I only started and finished watching last year - the soundtrack across all 6 seasons was fantastic... for me season 5 was the best 13 back to back television episodes bar none.

DazMarz

My personal all time favourite, the one show I would never tire of watching again and again.

I've been a huge fan of the show since I was about 15, and it is the definitive TV series of my life. It inspired and influenced so much after it. It changed the way in which television was made, looked upon and respected.

Everything about it is just top-drawer; the acting, the writing, the storylines, the production values, the attention to detail. Nothing was left to chance, everything was meticulous and everything was just brilliant.

One thing that I love about it are the subtle little things that you could miss. Every time I watch an episode again (and I watch The Sopranos religiously at least once a year; every episode chronologically), I see something else that I hadn't noticed before. Every single time.

The humour in it is brilliant. Tony is supreme; nobody can say "Fúck", "bitch", "cúnt" or any of the other more colourful words of English quite like him. He also has a morbid sense of humour at time and takes sadistic pleasure in certain acts. Of course, the break-out character is Peter "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, the resident psychopath and the man with the winged hair. But every character has their moments of sheer comic genius, be it through their actions, their malapropisms or just a simple facial expression. Chris Moltisanti as the wannabe-sceenwriter and sometime-junkie is especially classic. Silvio Dante, Richie Aprile, Ralphie Cifaretto, Janice "Parvati" Soprano, Livia Soprano, Bobby "Bacala" Bacallieri, Corrado "Junior" Soprano... all have moments that would just split your sides with laughter.

That leads me to the strength of the characters. We know these guys. We invest in these guys as we watch the show. We grow to love some of them, despite their viciousness and foibles. They are three-dimensional and have all the aspects, gripes, pains and everything that everyone else in the world has. They're not cardboard cut-out mobsters; they all have personal lives, tender sides, other agendas, everything. The microcosm of life within New Jersey is populated by characters of such strength and depth that they remain with us forever. Nobody who ever watched The Sopranos will ever readily forget some of its more central characters. Ever.

It was an event of television. A triumph. A masterpiece. It was so strong in so many areas and it had so much going for it. It laid bare the dark side of the American Dream for all to see. It showed how, despite claims by many to the contrary, that there is such a thing as the Mafia. The DiMeo/Soprano family of HBO is heavily influenced by the DiCavalcante family of New Jersey.

The list of accolades that The Sopranos has gathered over the years speaks for itself. Is it that good and does it deserve all the plaudits?

The TL;DR answer: Yes. 100%.

Temaz

DazMarz wrote: »

My personal all time favourite, the one show I would never tire of watching again and again.

I've been a huge fan of the show since I was about 15, and it is the definitive TV series of my life. It inspired and influenced so much after it. It changed the way in which television was made, looked upon and respected.

Everything about it is just top-drawer; the acting, the writing, the storylines, the production values, the attention to detail. Nothing was left to chance, everything was meticulous and everything was just brilliant.

One thing that I love about it are the subtle little things that you could miss. Every time I watch an episode again (and I watch The Sopranos religiously at least once a year; every episode chronologically), I see something else that I hadn't noticed before. Every single time.

The humour in it is brilliant. Tony is supreme; nobody can say "Fúck", "bitch", "cúnt" or any of the other more colourful words of English quite like him. He also has a morbid sense of humour at time and takes sadistic pleasure in certain acts. Of course, the break-out character is Peter "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, the resident psychopath and the man with the winged hair. But every character has their moments of sheer comic genius, be it through their actions, their malapropisms or just a simple facial expression. Chris Moltisanti as the wannabe-sceenwriter and sometime-junkie is especially classic. Silvio Dante, Richie Aprile, Ralphie Cifaretto, Janice "Parvati" Soprano, Livia Soprano, Bobby "Bacala" Bacallieri, Corrado "Junior" Soprano... all have moments that would just split your sides with laughter.

That leads me to the strength of the characters. We know these guys. We invest in these guys as we watch the show. We grow to love some of them, despite their viciousness and foibles. They are three-dimensional and have all the aspects, gripes, pains and everything that everyone else in the world has. They're not cardboard cut-out mobsters; they all have personal lives, tender sides, other agendas, everything. The microcosm of life within New Jersey is populated by characters of such strength and depth that they remain with us forever. Nobody who ever watched The Sopranos will ever readily forget some of its more central characters. Ever.

It was an event of television. A triumph. A masterpiece. It was so strong in so many areas and it had so much going for it. It laid bare the dark side of the American Dream for all to see. It showed how, despite claims by many to the contrary, that there is such a thing as the Mafia. The DiMeo/Soprano family of HBO is heavily influenced by the DiCavalcante family of New Jersey.

The list of accolades that The Sopranos has gathered over the years speaks for itself. Is it that good and does it deserve all the plaudits?

The TL;DR answer: Yes. 100%.

Great post. Wish I could be so articulate.

IvaBigWun

Ok so last night some of the hype behind the show really kicked in for me. It was the last few instalments of Season 4 and, even though I had an early start today, the "just one more episode!" feeling finally kicked in.

It culminated in Edie Falco's amazing performance when

she finally kicks Tony out.

I hope she cleaned up at every awards ceremony that year. It was incredible TV, up there with Breaking Bad at its best.

So bring on Season 5! If this rise in standards and tension continues it could still end up in my all time top 10 shows

Alfred Borden

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Ok so last night some of the hype behind the show really kicked in for me. It was the last few instalments of Season 4 and, even though I had an early start today, the "just one more episode!" feeling finally kicked in.

It culminated in Edie Falco's amazing performance when

she finally kicks Tony out.

I hope she cleaned up at every awards ceremony that year. It was incredible TV, up there with Breaking Bad at its best.

So bring on Season 5! If this rise in standards and tension continues it could still end up in my all time top 10 shows

it gets better

Temaz

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Ok so last night some of the hype behind the show really kicked in for me. It was the last few instalments of Season 4 and, even though I had an early start today, the "just one more episode!" feeling finally kicked in.

It culminated in Edie Falco's amazing performance when

she finally kicks Tony out.

I hope she cleaned up at every awards ceremony that year. It was incredible TV, up there with Breaking Bad at its best.

So bring on Season 5! If this rise in standards and tension continues it could still end up in my all time top 10 shows

Edie Falco was/is massively overrated. Drea De Matteo was the standout female in the show for me.

She also had a much better storyline than the tiresome Carmela and she knocked out of the park as the abused, drug using,

informing which led to her death etc

over Carmela's cycle of taking a fancy to a new man, worrying about money etc etc.

Cast Iron

I think it's fair to say The Sopranos raised the bar for television drama. Production values, writing, casting, soundtrack, you name it in my opinion it upped televisions game. It showed that quality productions weren't the sole preserve of a Hollywood movie anymore and opened the door for The Wire, The Shield, Rescue Me, Mad Men and right through to Breaking Bad.

We should all be very thankful HBO took the punt!!

DazMarz

Cast Iron wrote: »

I think it's fair to say The Sopranos raised the bar for television drama. Production values, writing, casting, soundtrack, you name it in my opinion it upped televisions game. It showed that quality productions weren't the sole preserve of a Hollywood movie anymore and opened the door for The Wire, The Shield, Rescue Me, Mad Men and right through to Breaking Bad.

We should all be very thankful HBO took the punt!!

This is true.

Up until The Sopranos (although some would argue it started with Oz, I believe that The Sopranos truly ushered it in), television was seen as a somewhat "lesser" medium of storytelling through the visual means than films.

When The Sopranos emerged, the game was changed irrevocably forever. While there were other excellent, slow-burning television series out there that were incredible at times (see: Murder One, The X-Files, Miami Vice, LA Law, NYPD Blue, ER, etc.), it wasn't until The Sopranos came along that television truly started to get recognised for being able to tell a story in a longer term, more effective and more engaging means that films could not.

Television series have an advantage in that they can tell a story, develop characters, have many intertwining storylines and so on over the space of many episodes with little constraints on time. A film will have to do this within a few hours at most. It is hard to imagine such things of brilliance as certain television series being concentrated down into a couple of hours.

Add in the fact that actors now do not have to become stars of film to be truly recognised as geniuses of the craft of acting. Stars of television are now truly being recognised for how brilliant they can be. It was long a case that film stars would not "lower" themselves to appear in television. Now, it may be that the opposite is true; stars on television may find it constricting to act in a film and may not "lower" themselves to appear in films. :P

Be in no doubt. Without The Sopranos, there would never have been 24, The Wire, Lost, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, Game Of Thrones etc.

Each and every successful, long-term, slow-burning television drama series released in the past decade owes some debt (however small) to The Sopranos. If not in direct influence on subject matter or in inspiration, but in the fact that The Sopranos made television a medium in which people were willing to invest so much time and effort to make spectacular programming. Doors opened in the aftermath of The Sopranos, and even if you are not a fan of it, you are most probably a fan of a show that was (however indirectly) spawned as a result of it.

The debt owed to The Sopranos by the creative forces of television and the wider audience is enormous.

sawdoubters

fade to black

IvaBigWun

Some excellent cases been put forward in defence of the show in this thread.

Im about to load up the penultimate episode of Season 5 and it looks like the shít is really about to hit the fan

IvaBigWun

The last few episodes of season 5 and (so far) the first few of 6 have been fantastic.

The

shooting of Adriana was done brutally, surprisingly and

was at the centre of an episode Empire magazine named as the best Sopranos one ever; "Long Term Parking" was riveting TV.

Equally Tony's

alter state and personality in his coma

in Season 2, Episode 2 was a pure "what the fúck?" watch for most of the running time, they really know how to throw in tonal curveballs like this to keep viewers on their toes. Again, it was near perfect TV. With the many subtle philosophical questions this one gives us, I think it will stand up to many re-viewings.

Of the other recent episodes Ive watched the

phone reunion with Tony and Carmella

was beautifully acted, by James Gandolfini in particular. Follow this up with

"Three Times A Lady"

in the closing credits and a voice in my head said "wow!"

Ive used the words like "fantastic", "riveting", "near perfect" and "wow!" to cover just 4 episodes of this show, with about 17 left to watch I think its safe to say my appreciation for it has grown

spitfireIRL

Someone here posted the exact same order of favourite shows that I have.
Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Game Of Thrones, and Breaking Bad. Sopranos and The Wire are tiers above the others though, although obviously BE and GOT aren't finished yet.

I can't put my finger on why, but I think The Sopranos JUST edges it for number one for me. As another poster said, I think it's Gandolfini's performance. Five stars. What a man.

So, yes, it is worth the hype

I'd be in trouble if you left me now!!

IvaBigWun

Did Tony's murdering of

Christopher

come off as a bit unbelievable for anyone else?

He was like a father to him for all 6 seasons, then the car flips, Christopher admits he's high and Tony turns to the dark side.

It just seemed to be shock for shock sake, something the show hasnt succumbed to, in my viewing of it, till now

Alfred Borden

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Did Tony's murdering of

Christopher

come off as a bit unbelievable for anyone else?

He was like a father to him for all 6 seasons, then the car flips, Christopher admits he's high and Tony turns to the dark side.

It just seemed to be shock for shock sake, something the show hasnt succumbed to, in my viewing of it, till now

My opinion is

He was becoming reckless and a liability. even though he viewed him like a son, he saw the bigger picture and we all know that tony only cares for himself.

aoifeyork

Lenin Skynard wrote: »

Where it lost me at times was with some of the smaller plot angles like Carmella's affair, whatever the kids are doing and some of the soft-comedy type stuff with Pauly. Maybe those bits are there to hook women and young people in rather than grumpy old men like me. What I'm saying I suppose is that I would have liked less of the fluffy stuff and more tension

See, each to their own, but this to me is completely missing the point. What makes the Sopranos fascinating, and what made it so groundbreaking, is the pressures Tony feels from his two families: his wife and kids, and the Mafia.

I think it would be so much duller if it was just Mafia business with no domestic angle.

It is most definitely not just there to bring in female viewers, and I think to think that is to misunderstand the premise of the show.

Temaz

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Did Tony's murdering of

Christopher

come off as a bit unbelievable for anyone else?

He was like a father to him for all 6 seasons, then the car flips, Christopher admits he's high and Tony turns to the dark side.

It just seemed to be shock for shock sake, something the show hasnt succumbed to, in my viewing of it, till now

Business wise he was liability and had to go. Christopher was unstable, back using and would have made a move on Tony at some stage. As Junior pointed out to Tony right before the intervention who knows what he'd say if the Feds got him in that condition.

It was inevitable for it to happen. Still shocking viewing though.

CountyHurler

Hey OP, I actually just started watching the first series last week as well.. First few episodes were okay, but I really got drawn in on the College episode where Tony was chasing down an old adversary while ostensibly looking at colleges with Meadow...

I think the whole psychiatrist part is distracting though, and stretching the bounds of reality..

Temaz

CountyHurler wrote: »

I think the whole psychiatrist part is distracting though, and stretching the bounds of reality..

Quit watching so. It's the heartbeat and cornerstone of the show. It's really not for you.

IvaBigWun

Temaz wrote: »

Business wise he was liability and had to go. Christopher was unstable, back using and would have made a move on Tony at some stage. As Junior pointed out to Tony right before the intervention who knows what he'd say if the Feds got him in that condition.

It was inevitable for it to happen. Still shocking viewing though.

Im not buying it.

There were times (like when

they stole the wine)

that Tony was

closer to Christopher than he was with AJ

Temaz

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Im not buying it.

There were times (like when

they stole the wine)

that Tony was

closer to Christopher than he was with AJ

Things were frosty even then. The hug they gave each other during the christening where the camera pans to both their faces you see both love, fear and hatred from both of them.

Tony saw his chance and took it coming away from it clean although I suspect Sil had an inkling that Tony had done the deed.

Sunglasses Ron

DazMarz wrote: »

The humour in it is brilliant. Tony is supreme; nobody can say "Fúck", "bitch", "cúnt" or any of the other more colourful words of English quite like him. He also has a morbid sense of humour at time and takes sadistic pleasure in certain acts. Of course, the break-out character is Peter "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, the resident psychopath and the man with the winged hair. But every character has their moments of sheer comic genius, be it through their actions, their malapropisms or just a simple facial expression. Chris Moltisanti as the wannabe-sceenwriter and sometime-junkie is especially classic. Silvio Dante, Richie Aprile, Ralphie Cifaretto, Janice "Parvati" Soprano, Livia Soprano, Bobby "Bacala" Bacallieri, Corrado "Junior" Soprano... all have moments that would just split your sides with laughter.

:pac:

Agreed. It is a hard call on who gets the funniest dialogue, at a push.....Junior. The scene where he recounts getting his first handjob at the funeral of the woman who gave it to him, :eek::pac: The insults and hatred between the seemingly well educated, intelligent Ralphie and Paulie the complete idiot was something else as well


Brilliant show, although I hated the way they wasted so much time on

utterly pointless dream sequences in both the episode where Tony is shot, and the one where he is in a New York hotel the night Tony B kills Phil's brother. It really was just filler rubbish, completely irrelevant to any of the plot. Avant garde arthouse nonsense that was lauded by the critics and more pretentious viewers. The ending was pretty awful as well- anyone who thinks Tony died in the last scene needs their head examined, it is completely illogical.

I thought maybe it dipped slightly after season 4, but was still very good stuff.

Sunglasses Ron

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Im not buying it.

There were times (like when

they stole the wine)

that Tony was

closer to Christopher than he was with AJ

Simply, business is business. And his continued presence, lies and unreliability were bad for the future well being of the business.

How many times did we see people who were not just business associates but best friends, either plot to kill, murder or at least consider killing?

Junior loved Tony but still plotted to kill him over perceived disrespect. Tony loved his uncle but still only narrowly missed a chance to kill him in revenge. Tony and Johnny Sack were best mates on a friendship level, yet Tony found himself having to plot his murder because he wanted Ralph dead and Ralph was worth too much financially to lose. Paulie and Tony were best friends, yet Paulie half considered siding with New York against him, and Tony briefly considered killing Paulie on the boat